Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
Pheromones are chemical signals released by animals to attract a sexual partner. Whether pheromones have an effect on human behaviour (or indeed, whether we produce pheromones at all) is uncertain, although that has not stopped marketers from offering ‘Love Potions’ that will supposedly attract the opposite sex. To date, neither the ASA nor CAP has seen evidence to substantiate such claims and pheromone-based products should be sold on an availability-only platform. For a marketer looking to demonstrate changes in human behaviour, clinical studies that do not examine socio-sexual behaviour in closely matched experimental and placebo groups over an extended period are unlikely to be acceptable.
Last modified : 03 August 2010